Alan Shearer Dismantles Newcastle in Brutal 17-Word Rampage After West Ham Loss

Alan Shearer delivered a ruthless assessment of Newcastle United's bruising defeat against West Ham United.

Newcastle succumbed to West Ham on Sunday as Nuno Espirito Santo secured his first win since his appointment in September.

That's despite the Magpies taking the lead through Jacob Murphy, who struck in the fourth minute just moments after Jarrod Bowen rattled the woodwork.

But the Hammers hit back with three unanswered goals, including two before the break.

Lucas Paqueta equalised when he hit a long-range strike before an own-goal from Sven Botman put the hosts ahead. Tomas Soucek added a third in second-half stoppage time.

Newcastle weren't at the races as they slumped to their fourth league defeat of the season ahead of resuming their Champions League campaign next week.

Their showing at the London Stadium angered club legend Shearer, who described his old side as 'lazy' in a scathing assessment.

Shearer couldn't find a single positive from their league encounter and called Eddie Howe's team 'lethargic'.

"That was awful," he wrote on X. "No better 2nd half. Not one positive. Lazy. Leggy. Lethargic. Well done West Ham."

West Ham United celebrate scoring a goal against Newcastle United. Image: Getty

Eddie Howe: 'I can't really defend the performance'

Howe bemoaned his side's outing against West Ham and hit out at 'uncharacteristic errors'.

"I can't really defend the performance; it was really disappointing after that start," he told Sky Sports.

"I thought we could control the game but we didn't. We let West Ham in with some uncharacteristic errors. Collectively, we were off today and you could see that. We gave ourselves problems.

"We are hugely disappointed and frustrated with ourselves because we've missed a huge opportunity for back-to-back wins."

Eddie Howe cuts a frustrated figure on the touchline. Image: Getty

Howe also lamented the lack of 'physicality' as he emphasised the poor showing.

"The feel of the team was wrong. We were lacking in physicality today... This was a poor performance but they happen," he added.

"It leaves us with a gap to bridge and we can only do that with consistency and we haven't found that this season."

Newcastle return to action next Wednesday when they face Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League.